A man remained at large Thursday evening after being accused of burglarizing a Mendocino School District building on the coast earlier in the day, stealing a vehicle, starting a fire and making a false report of there being armed people in the area.

The Mendocino County Sheriff’s Office is looking for the suspect, described as a white male in his late teens to mid-20s, approximately six feet tall with a thin build, blonde hair that is collar length and no facial hair. The suspect was wearing baggy pants and a medium colored top with no shoes, and his overall appearance was described as unkempt.

An employee of the Mendocino K-8 School, located in the 44000 block of Little Lake Road, discovered the facility had been burglarized around 6:30 a.m. Thursday, according to MCSO Lt. Greg Stefani. School was not in session.

Stefani said deputies investigated and reviewed surveillance footage of the area and determined the suspect was driving a silver car. A bystander noted the car looked similar to one that was stuck in the sand on Big River Beach.

The car was confirmed to be at the beach location by deputies, unoccupied, and near several transient encampments, according to Stefani’s report. MCSO deputies ran the car’s registration and learned that California Highway Patrol officers had made a stolen vehicle report in Mendocino the night before.

Around 8:30 a.m. Thursday, a motorist on Little Lake Road was flagged down by a person, later determined to be the suspect, walking on the shoulder of the road. The suspect told the motorist there was a fire in the brush near the Mendocino K-8 School, and that he saw two men with rifles wearing masks near the fire. The suspect continued walking westbound and the motorist called 911.

MCSO deputies and CHP officers were able to find a “slowly spreading fire in the brush to the east of the parking lot,” at the Mendocino school, according to Stefani.

Mendocino Volunteer Fire Department and Cal Fire staff arrived on scene and began putting out the fire while deputies, assisted by Cal Fire officers, CHP officers, California Department of Fish and Wildlife wardens and California State Park rangers, continued to search the area for the reported armed subjects.

“The area was exhaustively searched by in excess of 15 law enforcement officers, on foot and on vehicles, for over three hours, and no armed subjects were located, nor were any persons who had witnessed armed subjects located,” according to Stefani’s report. “Deputies are confident that there were not armed subjects in the area of the Mendocino K-8 School.”

The MCSO suspects the man caused the fire and claimed seeing armed persons in attempts to distract law enforcement and make his escape.

Numerous investigative leads are being pursued as the investigation continues, according to the Sheriff’s Office. Anyone with information concerning this case is encouraged to contact MCSO Deputy Julian at 707-463-4086.